two weeks
by kcn
Summary: two weeks is all it takes for everything to change
1. Naruto's return

Disclaimer… well, you know, I don't own the show, characters, blahblahblahAs he made his way back to Konoha, Naruto had one thing on his mind, ramen. He had been on a mission for two weeks and there was no ramen for him while he was away from the village. He stepped through the front gate of the village hidden in the leaves with a happy sigh. He had missed his friends. The mission was a one-man mission, and it left him feeling lonely. He started walking toward Ichiraku ramen when he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Oi, baka, miss me?" Naruto whipped around to face the source of the voice.

Was it really… "Sasuke! No way! What are you doing here? When did you get back? How did you get back? Who knows you're here? Why…"

"Shut up and slow down, dobe!" Sasuke interrupted, but he was grinning slightly. "I just got back an hour ago, and Sakura told me you would be back from a mission today, so I was waiting for you."

"But how?" Naruto questioned. "Sakura, Kakashi, and Shikamaru came looking for me, and found me. Sakura knocked me out with one hit… she's gotten much stronger… it's almost scary… and they found Orochimaru. They fought and killed him. His death diminished the curse mark, and he no longer has a hold over me."

"Well, now that you are back, would you like to go to Ichiraku's with me and I'll buy us both some ramen!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Can't. I have to go and tell everyone that I am back. So far, nobody knows. I made the others keep it quiet until I told you. You're welcome." And with that, Sasuke left Naruto to greet the rest of the village.

He seems happy to be back, thought Naruto with a sigh. I just hope the rest of the village will be this happy to see him. He walked on a little farther when he saw Sakura. He proceeded to lunge at her with a big hug.

"Thank you Sakura! I can't believe you got him back! You are amazing!" Sakura smiled and nodded with a "hn." She didn't punch him or anything! "So do you want to go get some ramen? My treat!"

"Why not?" she shrugged. Even though she sounded like she didn't really care, she was happy for the invite. She had secretly missed the hyperactive blonde. He grinned and they walked to Ichiraku's together.

When they got to the ramen shop, they both sat at the counter and ordered miso pork ramen. "How sweet, treating your girlfriend to lunch!" the shop owner said.

"I told you before! We are not dating!" shouted Naruto, as he braced himself for a punch that was sure to come from Sakura. When no fist came hurtling in his direction, Naruto looked over at Sakura. She was red in the face and silently eating her ramen. "Are you Ok?" Naruto asked.

"Fine." Muttered Sakura with a nervous smile. Wow, she seems out of it today, thought Naruto. They sat in silence for the rest of their meal. After three bowls of ramen on Naruto's end and two on Sakura's, (Naruto was broke) they left the store. Mentally, Sakura was kicking herself for not speaking. Since when was she so shy around Naruto? Since when was she shy around anyone? No! Naruto couldn't do this to her, she was in love with Sasuke… well… maybe… maybe her love for him faded during his time gone. Maybe with the more time she spent with Naruto, the more she grew to have feelings for him, and that girlfriend comment had sent her over the edge. And Naruto made it seem like a big deal, and like it was such a horrible thing. Maybe that hurt her feelings a little bit, or a lot. NO!!! She didn't like Naruto as more then a friend. She didn't care! It wasn't like that at all!

Suddenly, Naruto stopped, causing Sakura to run into him. She realized they were at his apartment. She sighed. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Kakashi-sensei is weak from our last mission, so we won't be training."

"We should get reacquainted with Sasuke. We can just hang out. Maybe try to get that damn mask off of Kakashi."

"Yeah, sure." Sakura said distractedly. Naruto was worried. He thought she would be more delighted. She loved Sasuke after all and hadn't seen him in awhile!

"Do you want to come in for awhile?" He asked her.

"Yeah!" she said with a bit more enthusiasm. They walked into his apartment and Naruto plopped on the couch. He turned on Major Payne and told Sakura to sit next to him. She moved from her spot in the doorway and sat next to him on the couch. After a few minutes, he decided to make popcorn and bring out some sodas.

"No ramen?" Sakura teased.

"Actually, that's a good idea. Maybe I will make some instant ramen."

Sakura sighed, and then smiled. "What a loser." She muttered aloud.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm not deaf! And not a loser! Geez, you shouldn't go around and tease people about their weaknesses. That would be like me calling you a loser because of your obsession with Sasuke."

"Are you kidding? I haven't been obsessed with him for a while now. It's you that I like!" as soon as Sakura realized what she said, she stopped and blushed. Crap! Did I actually say that out loud? "Shit, I have to go!" and Sakura started to run out the door, but was suddenly caught by a pair of strong hands.

"What did you just say?" Naruto asked sternly.

"Shit, I have to go?" Sakura said. She was so embarrassed about her confession that she struggled to get loose.

"No, what did you say?" Naruto asked. His voice pleading this time.

Sakura slumped and repeated herself, blushing horribly. She then explained how over time, her feelings developed. He had matured in his time with Jiraiya, and needless to say, was better looking. At that part, Naruto grinned proudly and blushed.

"Is that true?" he asked

"NO BAKA, I MADE IT ALL UP! OF COURSE IT'S TRUE! GOD, YOU'RE SO DENSE!" Sakura yelled angrily. She tried to punch him, but he caught her fist and kissed her softly on the forehead.

"You know, I like you too. I have for as long as I can remember. Please don't leave just yet." Sakura blushed wildly and laid her head on his chest. All of a sudden, both of them heard a small sob outside. Naruto opened the door to see Hinata sitting on the doorstep with a bowl of ramen. She was crying until she heard the door open. She jumped up, dropped the ramen, muttered a small "sorry Naruto-kun!", and ran off as fast as she could.

"Hinata! Wait up!" yelled Sakura, but the small girl was too far away. "Oh, man." Sakura muttered. Naruto looked very confused.

"What was that all about?" He wondered aloud.

"Hinata has had a huge crush on you since she saw you at the Ninja Academy. She probably heard us and was crushed." Sakura sighed.

"Are you kidding me? Really?" Naruto sighed guiltily. "I should go talk to her." He said, but as soon as he got to the door, he saw a very angry Kiba running towards him. "oof!" He was tackled by the boy and Akimaru came running up, barking angrily. "What is the matter with you two? Why the sudden ambush?"

"I just ran into Hinata, who was crying. I stopped her and she said that you were in love with Sakura! How dare you make her cry like that! And Sakura! You are supposed to be her best friend! You two should be more considerate! I outta kick your ass!" yelled the very angry dog boy while keeping Naruto pinned down.

"How was I supposed to know she was out there? How was I supposed to know she liked me?!" Yelled Naruto as he struggled to escape from Kiba's grasp. All the while Akimaru was barking loudly as if to back Kiba up.

"How could you not tell? EVERYONE knew she liked you. And tonight was the night she was gonna ask you out! She finally got up the nerve to speak to you, and you go and do something like this?!" Kiba growled at him.

"Stop it, both of you!" yelled Sakura. Kiba climbed off of Naruto who stood up with a scowl on his face. Both boys looked at each other and there was a long silence, as if the two were challenging the other to make the first move. "Come on, you guys are best friends! Don't act like this! I will talk to Hinata tomorrow. Why don't we go home for the night? It's getting late." And with that, Sakura, Kiba, and Akimaru left, the latter snapping at Naruto one last time before departing.

"Wow, what a night!" Naruto muttered to himself. He cleaned the ramen and broken bowl off of his doorstep, turned the movie off, and went to bed.


	2. Hinata's comforting

Kiba and Akimaru started home. "What a jerk!" Kiba muttered to Akimaru, who was now nestled inside his jacket.

"Woof!" Akimaru barked in agreement.

"If Sakura hadn't been there, I would have beaten him to a pulp!" He thought of Hinata crying and running through the streets. Just the thought of it made him clench his fist and grit his teeth. "She is too sweet of a girl and deserves better then that!" he said aloud. Akimaru barked in agreement again. Then they walked home in silence, fuming over the way Naruto hurt Hinata.

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As sunlight shown through Naruto's window, he sat up and yawned. Man, what a dream, he thought. He had dreamt that Orochimaru came back and took Sakura this time. If that ever happened, Naruto wouldn't know what to do with himself.

Naruto got dressed and then got some instant ramen for breakfast. After eating, he went outside to look for Sakura and Sasuke, since they were supposed to hang out today for their day off. He spotted Sasuke walking with Neji and Tenten. Neji was holding Tenten's hand. When did they start going out? Naruto wondered. Sasuke looked over and spotted him. Naruto waved and ran towards him.

"Do you want to hang out with Sakura and me today? It'll be like the old days, as team seven." Naruto asked

"Sure, whatever." Sasuke shrugged. So Naruto waved to Tenten and Neji and ran off to find Sakura. Sasuke walked behind him a little more slowly. Sakura was walking with Tsunade when they saw Naruto running towards them.

"Hey Granny Tsunade! Hey Sakura!" Naruto yelled at the two.

"STOP CALLING ME GRANNY!" yelled Tsunade. Sakura just waved.

"Sorry Tsunade-sama," Muttered Naruto, "Are you ready to go Sakura? We should go to our normal meeting spot on the bridge and figure out what to do for our day off." Said Naruto as Sasuke walked up behind him with a sigh.

"Sure." She said with a smile. The three of them walked up to the bridge with Naruto and Sakura talking excitedly. Sasuke just walked behind them and listened.

"By the way, Sakura, are you going to talk to Hinata today?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I was thinking that we both should talk to her. Maybe that would be more effective. I mean, after all, you haven't officially asked me out yet anyway." Sakura said. Sasuke stopped in his tracks.

"Asked you out?!" he asked. Naruto laughed and explained what happened the previous night. Sasuke just sighed and walked on.

"What's wrong Sasuke?" Asked Sakura.

"Nothing," muttered Sasuke, sounding rather annoyed.

"Well, anyway, now that I think about it, I haven't officially asked you out." Naruto said.

Sakura giggled girlishly. "yeah I'll go out with you." She said and kissed him on the cheek.

"tch" Sasuke snorted. He didn't sound too happy.

"What is your problem?" Naruto asked.

"Ummm, you're just a loser, that's all." Sasuke retorted.

"I think that you're jealous!" Naruto yelled.

"Am not. Why would I be jealous? Sakura's annoying! I pity you!" yelled Sasuke.

Naruto lunged at Sasuke. "Take that back you jerk! How dare you!" he yelled, as Sasuke held him back with one hand and a bored look on his face. Sakura just shook her head and walked on muttering about how some people just don't grow up.

"Wait up Sakura!" Naruto yelled as he ran to catch up. He put his arm around her shoulder.

"You know, I think we have wasted enough time here, Naruto and I should find Hinata and talk to her. We should hang out some other time though, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said

"Whatever." Sasuke replied with a scowl.

Sasuke continued walking toward the bridge, and the other two turned and walked away with Naruto's arm still around Sakura who put her head on Naruto's shoulder. As they got closer to the place where Hinata and her team trained, they separated from one another so Hinata couldn't see how close they were to one another.

When the two finally got to Hinata's training ground, they saw Hinata sitting on the ground holding her knees, with Kiba rubbing her back to comfort her. Akimaru nuzzled her cheek and Hinata gave him an appreciative smile through her tears. They walked up and Naruto tapped Kiba on the shoulder. Kiba looked up and moved away for him to sit next to her.

"Hinata…" Naruto started. He tried to think of what to say to make things right with her. She looked up at him. Her big lavender eyes showed surprise.

"N-Naruto-kun?" She said quietly. Her face turned tomato red upon seeing him. She then saw Sakura standing behind her. "S-S-Sakura-chan?"

Sakura smiled warmly and sat on Hinata's left side. "We thought we should talk to you about last night." She said with a sympathetic tone to her voice.

"Oh." Hinata said quietly and hung her head.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't know that you felt that way. You are really cool Hinata. And you are a pretty girl! And sweet too! Just because me and Sakura are together, doesn't mean you can't find true love. Who knows, it might not work between me and Sakura. Don't give up!" Naruto said. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "And besides," he added, "you and Kiba seem pretty friendly. I think he might actually like you!" He whispered the last part, hoping Kiba, who wasn't standing too far away, wouldn't hear that. Hinata blushed at that. She had also blushed wildly when Naruto kissed her on the cheek.

"T-Thank you N-Naruto-kun!" she said and hugged him. That talk had helped her get closer to getting over Naruto. She ran over to Kiba. He looked to Naruto and smiled. Naruto gave him a thumbs up.

"Let's train Kiba-kun!" She exclaimed. He wiped what was left of her tears from her face and looked in her eyes with a hint of concern.

"Are you Ok? Are you sure you want to train?" Kiba asked. She nodded happily. Kiba gave her a hug, and when he realized what he was doing, he pulled away and blushed. "Let's go work on some moves!" he said excitedly, still slightly blushing.

"Let's go!" she said and they ran back into the training grounds to start.


	3. Sasuke's jealousy

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Sasuke walked through the woods with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Why am I so angry about this? He wondered. That girl is annoying. And so is Naruto. Well, all the best to them. He was bitter. He was still trying to compete against his best friend though. Maybe that was why he was angry. It wasn't that he was jealous that Sakura liked Naruto; it was that Naruto got her instead of him. It was rivalry, not jealousy. But then, maybe there were some hidden feelings that he had for her. Maybe…

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	4. Kiba's love

After about three hours of training, Kiba decided to walk Hinata home.

"You did well today Hinata! I can tell that you are really improving! I was impressed." Kiba said. I guess her talk with Naruto gave her some more confidence. He thought happily.

"Thank you Kiba-kun!" Hinata exclaimed. Before they knew it, they were at Hinta's. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her. She returned the hug, but was blushing wildly. She felt his hand move and gently cup her chin. He tilted her head up towards him and kissed her. At this, Hinata fainted.

"Hinata!" Kiba said. Crap, I took it too far! He thought, mentally slapping himself. He scooped Hinata up bridal-style and opened the door to her apartment. He set her on the couch and then went into the kitchen. Maybe some tea will help her, Kiba thought merrily. "Akimaru, watch her while I make some tea." Kiba ordered his small dog.

"Woof!" He barked happily. Kiba found the tea and started to brew it. While it was in the middle of brewing, Kiba sat on the couch next to Hinata and felt her head. She felt normal. He shook her softly.

"Hinata, wake up!" He said quietly. Slowly, her eyes opened. She sat up and looked at him.

"K-Kiba-kun? What are you doing h-here?" She asked.

"You passed out, so I'm making you some tea." He said pushing her bangs out of her eyes. She blushed and pushed her fingers together.

"O-oh, okay. Th-thanks Kiba-kun." She whispered.

"No problem hun. Wait, I mean Hinata. Sorry." He said quickly. Hinata giggled shyly. Kiba gave her a warm smile and went to get the tea. He poured each of them a cup full of tea. They sat and drank their tea in a comfortable silence. Kiba slid his arm around her shoulders and she slowly relaxed onto his chest. He started to sing quietly to her. Slowly, the two of them drifted off to sleep. Akimaru curled up in a loveseat next to the couch, yawned, and fell asleep.


	5. Ino's comfort

Ino awoke to her head rising and falling steadily. She sat up and looked at him. His legs were crossed lazily and his heads were locked behind his head. He was so adorable when he slept. She hugged her knees and watched him, thinking about the previous night.

-------------------------------------------------FLASHBACK!!! YAY!!!----------------------------------------------

_"__Ino__, you have a visitor!!" __Ino's__ dad yelled up the stairs_

_"I'm coming!" She replied as she bounded down the steps. Who could be visiting me at this time, she wondered. __She got to the door and saw __Shikamaru__ leaning against the door frame._

_"__Oi__, troublesome woman, __come__ with me."_

_"Not if you keep calling me that!" __Ino__ retorted. __Shikamaru__ just rolled his eyes and walked towards the street. __Ino__ ran after him. "Where are we going?" she asked._

_"You'll see. It's somewhere I go to relax, and I want you to come with me._

_"__Um, don't you relax pretty much wherever you are, lazy-ass? And why am I coming?"_

_"I just want to show you something, that's all." __Shikamaru__ said quietly. He led the way to a small __hil__ in a clearing surrounded by trees. "Look, over the horizon." He said, pointing in the direction of a breathtaking sunset._

_"Wow! It's beautiful!" She whispered._

_Shikamaru__ sat on the __ground,__ and __Ino__ sat next to him. They sat in silence until the sun had fully set. As they were looking at the stars, __Ino__ hopped back up._

_"I'm getting bored! Let's do something else! Come on __Shika-poo__!" She said too loudly for his comfort_

_"Troublesome woman, quiet down! I'm going to stay here, thank you. And for the love of God, don't call me __Shika-poo__!" __Shikamaru__ said lazily and rolled his eyes._

_"Well then don't call me troublesome woman! And I'm really bored. There is nothing fun about stars!"_

_"Just leave then!" He said__, sounding__irritated_

_"Fine, I will!" __Ino__ said as she turned to walk away._

_"Wait, don't go. I'm sorry, just come sit with me for awhile. I will do your hair if you want. Will you just come back?" He asked, sounding almost pitiful. He stood up and looked at her sadly._

_Ino__ pouted. "I thought you said I was troublesome!" She complained as she turned her back towards him__, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Suddenly, she felt hot breathe against her ear._

_"Maybe I like troublesome every once in a while." He whispered to her. She turned and put her hands on the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss. They sank to the ground and she pulled away._

_"Maybe just watching the stars isn't so bad." She admitted as she laid her head on his chest. He stroked her hair and the slowly drifted to sleep._

-------------------------------------------END OF FLASHBACK!!!!----------------------------------------

Shikamaru's eyes opened slowly. "Get back here, troublesome woman." He said with a smile, and he pulled her back next to him. She buried her head into his shoulder. They sat and watched the clouds for the rest of the day.


End file.
